So – why should I care? Why should I recycle?

Our next Go Green! Recycle Rally is coming up this Sunday (Sept. 23) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s a great, inexpensive opportunity to get rid of your unwanted items safely and securely! There are many reasons to take the right steps to recycle:

What should you know about recycling?

U.S. consumers throw away 400 million units of electronic equipment every year!

Your health: Recycling electronic waste protects human health and the environment by diverting thousands of pounds of waste from landfills and incinerators. Recycling also keeps toxins like lead, mercury and cadmium from contaminating the air you breathe, the soil our food grows in and the water you drink. Recycling also conserves natural resources by allowing valuable materials to be reclaimed and reused, rather than using virgin materials. Why reuse materials when the earth is abundant with many of these? Mining is dangerous to the people doing the work as well as the communities surrounding mines.

It’s the law: Beginning January 1, 2012, it became illegal for businesses and municipalities to collect electronic waste for disposal at landfills. This includes your waste collection company. Beginning January 1, 2015, individuals will no longer be able to dispose of e-waste at landfills as well.

It’s the right thing to do: E-waste in landfills creates all sorts of problems for our local wildlife. The same harmful toxins that affect your drinking water also have an adverse affect on the animals and plants that we share the landscape with. Fish that have been contaminated with mercury have been linked to learning disabilities, motor skill impairment and memory loss.

What is this going to cost me? Nothing! And the Zoo is doing its part to make it as easy as possible to recycle your e-waste.

So do your part; bring your unused electronics to our Go Green! Recycle Rally this Sunday. We will be collecting items in our Zoo parking lot! You may also bring documents to be shredded, ink and toner cartridges, clothing, shoes and textiles, cell phones, cameras, batteries* and unbroken fluorescent and CFL light bulbs to be disposed of properly. (*There is a fee of $2/lb. for non-rechargeable batteries.)